The Parable of the Friend at Night explained? A word of caution is appropriate here. Never are we to approach God with impertinence or a demanding or disrespectful attitude. James tells us that we don’t have because we don’t ask, or we ask with the wrong motives (James 4:3). That God allows us to approach Him at all is an indication of His mercy and graciousness toward sinners. But He is our Abba Father (Romans 8:15), and we are His children. We come before Him as a child comes before his earthly father, in confidence that his father loves him and wants the best for him. And if this man would give his neighbor what he wanted not out of friendship, but just because of his shameless boldness, how much more will God, who loves us perfectly, give us when we come into His presence?
Perhaps the key term for understanding the meaning of this parable is the word translated persistence in the NKJV. The Greek word is anaídeia, and its meaning is strongly debated by scholars of Biblical Greek. In fact, this debate is reflected in the translation and notes of some of the modern versions. For example, the NASB translates the Greek term anaídeia as persistence, but then it includes a footnote that reads “Lit shamelessness.” On the other hand, the ESV translates to word as impudence, but then includes a footnote that reads “Or, persistence.” So, which is it? Does the word mean something like shamelessness or impudence?
The question itself is quite long and extends from verse 5 through verse 7: NKJ Luke 11:5-7 [Open in Logos Bible Software (if available)] And He said to them, “Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves [ἄρτος, bread or loaf of bread]; 6 for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; 7 and he will answer from within and say, ‘Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you ‘?” See extra information on the The Parable of the Friend at Night video on YouTube.
Jesus is not comparing the reluctant friend with the heavenly Father; He is contrasting the two. Jesus is not saying that the heavenly Father is like the reluctant friend who needs to be persuaded many times before he would help. He is saying that if even a reluctant friend will give out of a person’s persistence, how much more will the heavenly Father give out of our persistence. In verse 13, Jesus says that if we, who are evil, know how to give good things, how much more the heavenly Father. Again, He is contrasting the two.